In 2002 the City of Chicago combined the Sewer and Water departments into one management department to tackle growing infrastructure problems facing these two tax revenue programs.  The aging of these underground systems and their unique revenue structures demanded a greater public focus.

The City's 2003-07 Capital Improvement Program (CIP)  -- its five-year road map for public works investments – details planned allocations for water and sewer improvements at an increased level of $847.6 million, $40 million over the 2002-06 CIP program.  This is significant, given the flooding that many Chicago neighborhoods have endured over the past five years, and the fact that the 2003-7 Capital Improvement Plan (not including aviation) is almost 10% less than last year’s 5-year projections.

Note in the chart above that the majority of the water funding is dedicated toward city-wide projects rather than neighborhood-specific improvements.

What’s the game plan for Water and Sewer improvements in 2003?  What does the City actually plan to spend this year?  For 2003, the City has funded Sewer improvements at $37.3 million and Water improvements at $137.4 million.  These are considerably below the 2002 funding levels of $56.9 million for Sewer and 149.5 million for Water.  In addition, to secure new revenue and perhaps to conserve water usage, the City is asking for 5000 volunteers to install water meters at their residences.  However, this will not address the funding needs of our sewer and water programs.

Funded" vs. "Unfunded":   In the Capital Improvement Program, the City projects its capital spending over a five-year period and shows how much of each project is slated for funding in the first year of the plan.  The five-year figure for each capital project is considered its allocation, while the first year projected spending is considered what is actually funded. 

In 2003, 17.2% of the Sewer projects planned for the five-year period, 2003-07, will be funded, and 21.7% of Water projects will be funded.  However, in 2002, a higher proportion of Sewer and Water projects were funded in the first year of the 5-year plan: Sewer 26.8% and Water 25%.  So, both allocations and funding levels for Sewer and Water have decreased.

This is important beyond the actual spending levels. Unfunded projects are more likely to be delayed -- sometimes for many years -- or dropped from the books altogether.  An unfunded project represents a lesser commitment by the City than a project to which it has pledged specific federal, state or local dollars.  Whether or not an unfunded project will get full funding or any funding at all as the five-year plan proceeds is not reflected in the CIP.